Some containers for food products, such as cookies and other snacks, typically include a frame surrounded by an outer wrapper. The frame acts as a tray to hold the food product and to protect the food product from damage. One normally gains access to the contents of the container by opening one end of the wrapper, withdrawing the tray from inside thereof, and removing the food product from the tray. Reclosing the wrapper, once opened, generally includes folding or rolling the end down and clipping the end to keep the wrapper closed.
One recent advancement in the art of food containers includes a resealable container disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,918,532 (hereinafter the “'532 patent”), herein incorporated by reference. The '532 patent discloses a wrapper which forms a top of the container which has an access opening. A sealing layer is adhesively sealed to the top around the opening. The sealing layer is releasable from the container by pulling back on a tab and the sealing layer is resealable against the top layer to seal the opening when the sealing layer is moved back to a flat position on the top.
Other food products come packaged in plastic trays, such as thermoform trays which are sealed on the top using some type of lidding material. Several conventional lidding materials are available for covering conventional trays. Lidding materials may be metal foil, flexible plastic wrap or rigid plastic. One recent advancement in lidding materials for covering thermoform trays is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/193,613 (herein incorporated by reference), which incorporates a resealable opening with a sealing layer similar to the one in the '532 patent.
In the packaging art, different methods have been used to indicate whether a package has been previously opened or whether the integrity of the package has been compromised. For example, in one prior dispensing bag for moistened tissues, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,867, tamper evidence is provided by a sealing label with an ink layer in the sealing area which leaves ink indicia in the sealing area to indicate that the package has been previously opened.
In another container, shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/029,651, herein incorporated by reference, various additional methods are shown to indicate whether a sealing layer has previously been removed from the container. One disclosed means for tamper-evident indication is the use of die-cut elongated strips running adjacent to the opening in the sealing area which is defined as the area around the opening of the container, under the sealing layer. One limitation with the use of the prior elongated strips is that the wrapper adjacent the elongated strips may become torn as the sealing layer is pulled back, thus compromising the integrity of the container's top.
There is a need in the art for a resealable container, preferably suitable for containing food items, which includes a new and improved tamper-evident indicator.